Migrant boat sinks off the Western coast of Turkey, 4 dead and 30 missing

Migrant boat sinks off the Western coast of Turkey, 4 dead and 30 missing

Four people have been reported dead and 30 others missing, after a boat carrying migrants sank off the Western coast of Turkey late on Tuesday. Reuters reports.

The Turkish interior ministry made this known on Wednesday and also reveled the number of people still to be accounted for.

The ministry also said in it’s statements that the boat sank off the coast of Izmir province and assured that search and rescue operations were on-going, to find the lost people.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants use Turkey as a lunch point as they seek a sea route into Europe.

Majority of these migrants are people seeking greener pastures and those running away from conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.

A deal struck between the Turkish Government and the European Union in 2016 had caused a drastic reduction in migration traffic in the region.

The deal was necessary at the time, after hundreds died crossing to Greek islands a few miles off the Turkish shore.

According to data by the United Nations, Migrants arriving the area, including refugees trying dangerously to cross from North Africa to Italy, totaled 172,301 in 2017, a reduction from 362,753 in 2016 and 1,015,078 in 2015.